Part of putting out a product for consumption and expecting consumers to pay for it is the need to accept criticism for said product. Once someone pays for something, they own it and have a right to proclaim dissatisfaction with it.
Authors must build a “thick skin†to prevent wounds from negative reviews. I remember my first bad review stinging like particularly nasty paper cut, but since then I’ve had far less trouble with them. I’ve come to find confidence from the knowledge that I wrote the best book I could at the time and I’m proud of the finished product, regardless of whether some find it lacking. There are two sides of the coin after all. Someone’s dislike is another person’s love. Books that a reader says they wasted their money on are the same books that are on another reader’s keeper shelf.
As a reader, I’ve found that bad reviews will sometimes goad me to buy a book. I rarely buy books based on reviews, but I’m pretty sure when I have bought a book because of a review, the review wasn’t positive. I know there are other readers like me who will buy regardless of the review, as well as readers who are wary of books with only positive reviews. We all have our quirks. However, there is a certain type of review that I have trouble being nonchalant about–the Wrong Review, reviews wherein some of the content is just plain wrong.
I’m not talking about perceived misconstructions about something I wrote. I see that as the reader’s experience and they own it; it’s theirs. It’s not my place to say, “I meant it like [insert reason] and you got it wrong,†because they didn’t get it wrong. They had a different experience with my words than I did. I’m talking about stating that something is in the book when it isn’t. Such as saying the hero is an ex-cop, when he isn’t. Or saying the heroine is widowed, when she was never married. Mistakes in relating facts, not perceptions.
It’s actually quite commonplace. I’ve had factual errors in reviews from both major publications and blogs. I’ve seen/read other authors privately bemoaning a review that’s wrong. If a reviewer thinks the heroine is stupid, that’s their right. If the reviewer states that the heroine is stupid because she used to be an FBI agent and should know better, but it was actually her sister who was the agent and the heroine teaches kindergarten… well, it grates. If the reviewer can’t remember the book well enough to know who’s who and what’s what, they really should skip reviewing the book.
Then I remind myself that I don’t think reviews influence sales overmuch, so does it matter? The reviews aren’t always bad when they’re wrong. Maybe it balances out? But no amount of reasoning stops it from mattering to me. Good or bad, I think reviews should be accurate. Despite this, I’ve only once sent a request for a mistake to be fixed (which it never was). It’s just too much stress risking the possibility that the reviewer might get defensive and in turn call me defensive and the whole thing turning into a mess. Much easier to just try and ignore it, and get back to work.
Funny enough, even knowing that there are chances I could be reading erroneous information, I don’t think about that while reading a review. Because of that, I guess it’s fortunate that reviews can lead me to buy a book, but they never make me skip a book.
A bit aside from the topic of errors, but still on topic about reviews is a blog post from the Baltimore Sun talking about reviewers taking heat for their reviews, which I guess makes sense, since posting a review is also putting something out there for public consumption.
Anyway, it’s a holiday weekend and I’m working madly on a deadline. 
Hopefully this wasn’t too much of a ramble and there’s something for us to chat about.
No related posts.
I think reviewers have a responsibility to their readers and to authors to get facts right in their reviews. Although I agree that reviews, especially in romance, don’t amount to a hill of beans where sales are concerned, this duty does not come from a worry about the effects of one’s action.
I think reviewers serve as intermediaries between authors and (at least some) readers, and have a responsibility of doing due diligence to both parties.
I
I gave up on expecting reviewers to get the facts right. I’m content if they can string together two grammatically correct sentences.
What I don’t like to see are the ‘reviews’ that are nothing more than summaries of the plot — with spoilers.
I remember the last movie critic from our paper. If he didn’t like a movie, I probably would. I don’t let a book review keep me from reading a book I think I’ll like.
Even bad reviews are good, because they get the book’s title and the author’s name out there. Plus, the readers I know realize reviewers don’t always have the same tastes. I almost NEVER like anything the Dear Author ladies do. I still read their blog regularly though, because it’s so informative of other things. Also, we should try to get our facts right, but reviewers are only human. The ladies at my review blog also have families and/or full time jobs and none of us get paid to review books, though we sometimes get them sent to us free.
Kimber An
Enduring Romance.
http://twitter.com/DrWicked/status/1129778939
Against criticism a man can neither protest nor defend himself; he must act in spite of it, and then it will gradually yield to him. -Goethe
on a much smaller level, I’ve had CPs and contest judges read things wrong. I was roasted for saying X – when I said the exact OPPOSITE of X.
But obviously it’s my fault for not making my meaning clear.
Well, I’m a reviewer
and I’m only human
so yes, I do make mistakes.
I’ll proofread a review a thousand times
and still spell that heroine’s funky name wrong
(which btw is also spelled wrong on the publisher’s site)
I give less than stellar reviews
because not every book works
(for me)
and if I gave all books great reviews
than the review rating would be useless.
I debated for months
taking the reviewer job.
There isn’t any pay,
you read all books, not simply the ones you wish to read,
you have deadlines (more deadlines! Yikes!),
and many authors have a serious hate on for reviewers.
However,
I would hear small press authors complain
that they weren’t getting reviewed
(because reviews, bad or good, ARE free advertising)
so I figured I’d suck it up
and take the beats.
Discovering a small press gem
is worth all the challenges.
Well, Kimber, I write for a small press and I have an extra ARC or two lying around….
LOL Terry
I’m a tad bit scared of reviewing your books after your comment about not being able to “string together two grammatically correct sentences.”
You’ll flame my a$$ for sure.
(Grinning)
Kimber, Your posts here prove you can handle the grammar. And you spelled my name right, too. (Amazing how hard that seems to be for some — and it’s written right on the book!)
I like reading reviews. I always have, especially when they vere off into more academic literary criticism. For some reason, it makes me want to go write some more. If a review is bad, I can learn from it, and also tell myself “but hey, she got published,” and this gives me hope for my own work.
But I can’t remember ever buying or rejecting a book because of the review. For non-fiction, it’s the subject matter (and the price). For example, I’ll buy anything about antebellum crusaders. (Oh, wait–I didn’t buy American Bloomsbury because of the reviews…so make that almost never!). In fiction, I go for the author, then the cover, then the blurb. If it’s full of my favorite tropes, it’s mine. Occasionally, I’m disappointed. I bought an inspirational lst week which seemed promising, but ended up rambling. But generally, I’m looking for entertainment, not high art, and most authors do a good job of that.
BTW, I second Terry Odell’s comment about the film critic. I’ve pretty much decided that if critics love it, I’ll hate it, and vice versa. Likewise, if my brother loves a movie, that means it’s depressing in the extreme, and not for me.
The only time a review might impact my decision to buy a book is when the reviewer praises the plot development, the characterization, the pacing, etc.–and then says the only problem is the lack of editing and terrible grammar. As a writing teacher, there’s nothing that can pull me out of the story faster–or make me feel like I’m still at work more–than a poorly edited novel.
Otherwise, I don’t typically let reviews influence me NOT to buy a book. There have been plenty of negative reviews, however, that have caused me to buy a book–sometimes because it piques my interest, sometimes just on principle.
….Ok, I’m a liar. I just chose one Tess Gerritsen book over another because the PW review said it was “unbearably suspenseful,” and I want to test my mettle.
Yeah, I’ll buy a book sometimes because of a negative review. But I’ve never not bought a book because of a review. Reviews always make me buy books, not avoid them. So while a reviewer getting facts wrong (or reviewing your tidily copy-edited book in poor English) is aannoying, in the scheme of things, I’d rather have my books talked about than ignored.
On the other hand, if I see an author responding gracelessly to a bad review, I might think twice about buying her book.
Yeah, I’ll buy a book sometimes because of a negative review. But I’ve never not bought a book because of a review. Reviews always make me buy books, not avoid them. So while a reviewer getting facts wrong (or reviewing your tidily copy-edited book in poor English) is aannoying, in the scheme of things, I’d rather have my books talked about than ignored.
On the other hand, if I see an author responding gracelessly to a bad review, that might influence me a bit.
(der, sorry for posting twice)
I got my first taste of a “bad” reader review today–the day Living the Vida Lola was released–but it was from a disgruntled and vindictive family member. Nice.
Luckily, Amazon and B & N have ways to have those inappropriate comments/reviews removed. Thick skin has to be acquired with reviews, I think, just like it did with agent, and then editor rejections. I’ll get there, though! Hope you make your deadline, Sylvia.
I had a review recently that got my main characters names mixed up and spelled them incorrectly too. I wasn’t so much annoyed as mystified. It seemed to me even if the reviewer had only read as far as the blurb, they would have gotten the names right at least.
Overall I do like to see my books reviewed though, good or bad. Someone’s read it and has an opinion, it is better than being ignored completely
“Once someone pays for something, they own it and have a right to proclaim dissatisfaction with it.”
So true. And there’s the time aspect as well. Who among us hasn’t completed a book and said, “That’s six hours of my life I’ll never get back . . .”